1
: having or showing a lack of good sense, judgment, or discretion
a foolish mistake
She takes foolish risks.
2
a
: absurd, ridiculous
He looked foolish in that hat.
b
: marked by a loss of composure : nonplussed
He felt foolish when he couldn't remember where he had parked the car.
3
foolishly
adverb
Synonyms
- absurd
- asinine
- balmy
- brainless
- bubbleheaded
- cockeyed
- crackpot
- crazy
- cuckoo
- daffy
- daft
- dippy
- dotty
- fatuous
- featherheaded
- fool
- half-baked
- harebrained
- half-witted
- inept
- insane
- jerky
- kooky
- kookie
- loony
- looney
- lunatic
- lunkheaded
- mad
- nonsensical
- nutty
- preposterous
- sappy
- screwball
- senseless
- silly
- simpleminded
- stupid
- tomfool
- unwise
- wacky
- whacky
- weak-minded
- witless
- zany
Examples of foolish in a Sentence
He was wearing a foolish grin.
She's been taking foolish risks.
Those flashy clothes make her look foolish.
She must feel foolish wearing those flashy clothes.
I never thought you'd be foolish enough to believe him.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Lakers are foolish in hiring a guy as head coach who has no coaching experience.
—
Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2024
In a pair of European trips this month, Biden argued that, contrary to the arguments of his political adversaries, the United States would be foolish to isolate itself from major European conflicts.
—Yasmeen Abutaleb, Washington Post, 18 June 2024
These are foolish arguments, betraying ignorance of slavery’s savage toll and the long hard road toward more equal treatment for people of every culture.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 18 June 2024
In addition to being foolish and self-defeating, the Biden decision to withhold ammunition from its closest ally in the midst of a war, sends a dangerous message to America’s other allies.
—Andrew Stein, New York Daily News, 19 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for foolish 
Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2024
In a pair of European trips this month, Biden argued that, contrary to the arguments of his political adversaries, the United States would be foolish to isolate itself from major European conflicts.
—Yasmeen Abutaleb, Washington Post, 18 June 2024
These are foolish arguments, betraying ignorance of slavery’s savage toll and the long hard road toward more equal treatment for people of every culture.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 18 June 2024
In addition to being foolish and self-defeating, the Biden decision to withhold ammunition from its closest ally in the midst of a war, sends a dangerous message to America’s other allies.
—Andrew Stein, New York Daily News, 19 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for foolish
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foolish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Foolish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foolish. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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